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List of religious leaders convicted of crimes

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This is a list of religious leaders who have been convicted of serious crimes before, during or after their period as a religious leader.

Violent crimes

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  • Tony Alamo - Headed a Santa Clarita commune. Convicted of tax evasion in 1994 and then resided in a halfway house in Texarkana.[1] In 2009, he was convicted of ten federal counts of taking minors across state lines for sex, and sentenced to 150 years in federal prison.[2]
  • Shoko Asahara - Founder of Aum Shinrikyo sentenced to death by hanging under Japanese law for involvement in the 1995 Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.[3]
  • Wayne Bent (aka: Michael Travesser) - Founder of Lord Our Righteousness Church, sometimes called Strong City. Was convicted of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2008.[4] He was sentenced to 18 years with eight years suspended.[5]
  • Graham Capill - former leader of Christian Heritage New Zealand. Sentenced to a nine-year imprisonment term in 2005 after multiple charges of child sexual abuse against girls younger than twelve.[6]
  • Matthew F. Hale - Former leader of Creativity Movement sentenced to a 40-year prison term for soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill a federal judge.[7]
  • Warren Jeffs - Once President of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a polygamist Mormon sect), convicted of rape as an accomplice (overturned in 2010). Jeffs was convicted in a Texas state court of child sex charges and sentenced to life plus 20 years. He is incarcerated at the Powledge state prison. He also awaits trial in other states and in the federal court system.[8]
  • Jung Myung Seok - South Korean religious sect leader and founder of Providence. Convicted for raping several of his followers.[9]
  • William Kamm - An Australian religious sect leader who was sentenced to prison in October 2005 for a string of sexual attacks on a 15-year-old girl. In August 2007 his sentence was increased after being found guilty for a series of sexual abuses against another teenage girl over a five-year period.[10]
  • Ervil LeBaron - Led a small sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists, and was convicted of involvement in the murder of two people and plotting to kill another person in 1981.[11]
  • Alice Lenshina - Zambian head and founder of the Lumpa Church. Conflicts with the government over the sect's rejection of taxes led to a violent confrontation and her subsequent imprisonment.[12]
  • Jeffrey Lundgren - Headed splinter group from Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, executed on October 24, 2006, for multiple murders.[13]
  • Charles Manson - Leader of the Manson Family who served life in prison for first degree murder until his death in 2017.[14]
  • Shukri Mustafa - Egyptian leader of Takfir wal-Hijra who was captured and executed on March 19, 1978, for the kidnapping and murder of an Egyptian ex-government minister.[15]
  • Fred Phelps - Leader of anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church. Convicted for disorderly conduct and battery.[16][17]
  • Swami Premananda of Tiruchirapalli - Indian religious leader convicted and sentenced to two life sentences for the rape of 13 girls and murder in 2005.[18]
  • Theodore Rinaldo - Leader of a religious group in Snohomish, Washington convicted of third-degree statutory rape for having sexual intercourse with one minor girl and of taking indecent liberties with another.[19]
  • Paul Schäfer - Former head of Chile-based Colonia Dignidad, was convicted of sexually abusing 25 children.[20]
  • Keith Raniere - The founder of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company and cult based near Albany, New York. Raniere was convicted of racketeering on the charges of sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child, attempted sex trafficking, identity theft, forced labor, conspiracy to alter records, conspiracy of sex trafficking, forced labor, racketeering, and wire fraud. Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in federal prison starting in January 2021.[21][22]
  • Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh - an Indian guru, music producer, singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He has been the head of the social group Dera Sacha Sauda since 1990. On 28 August 2017, Singh was sentenced to 20 years in jail for rape.[23] He has also faced prosecution for murder and ordering forced castrations. He is also alleged to have committed sexual assaults on many of his followers. He is also alleged to be involved in the murder of a journalist[24]
  • Roch Thériault - Former head of "Ant Hill Kids commune" served a life sentence in Canada for the murder of Solange Boislard.[25]
  • Yahweh Ben Yahweh - Head of Nation of Yahweh, convicted for Federal racketeering charges and conspiracy involving 14 murders.[26]
  • Dwight York - Head of Nuwaubianism, convicted in 2004 of multiple RICO, child molestation, and financial reporting charges and sentenced to 135 years in prison.[27]

Non-violent crimes

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Jury Convicts An Evangelist Of Tax Evasion". The New York Times. June 12, 1994. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  2. ^ CNN
  3. ^ Onishi, Norimitsu (February 27, 2004). "Ex-Leader of Japan Cult Sentenced to Death in Gas Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2007.[dead link]
  4. ^ "Sect Leader Who Allegedly Sought Virgins Found Guilty on Sex Charge". AP. TAOS, N.M: Fox News. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  5. ^ "New Mexico Apocalyptic Sect Leader Gets 10 Years in Sex Case". AP. Las Vegas, N.M: Fox News. December 31, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  6. ^ "Paedophile politician released". New Zealand Herald. September 9, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  7. ^ "Matthew Hale gets maximum 40-year sentence". Southern Poverty Law Center. April 7, 2005. Archived from the original on February 14, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  8. ^ "US polygamy sect leader sentenced". BBC News. November 20, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  9. ^ "JMS leader sentenced to 6 years". Korea Herald. August 13, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  10. ^ "Cult leader jailed for more sexual abuse". The Age. Melbourne. August 24, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  11. ^ "TIME". TIME. August 31, 1981. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  12. ^ Brockman, Norbert. Lenshina Mulenga Mubisha, Alice Dictionary of African Christian Biography. 1994. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  13. ^ "Ohio Executes Cult Leader for 5 Killings". CBS News. October 26, 2007. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  14. ^ Linder, Doug. The Charles Manson (Tate-LaBianca Murder) Trial Archived 2007-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. UMKC Law. 2002. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  15. ^ Livesey, Bruce. the salafist movement. Frontline. 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  16. ^ Notable Names Database. Fred Phelps entry.
  17. ^ Southern Poverty Law Center. Timeline of the life of Fred Phelps, Sr. Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Guru gets lifers for 13 rapes". The Times of India. April 5, 2005. Archived from the original on August 28, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  19. ^ Haley, Jim (December 4, 1979). "Businessman guilty of 2 morals charges". Everett Herald. p. 1A.
  20. ^ "Chilean colony sex abuser jailed". BBC News. May 24, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  21. ^ "Jury Finds Nxivm Leader Keith Raniere Guilty of All Counts". www.justice.gov. June 19, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  22. ^ "NXIVM Leader Keith Raniere Sentenced to 120 Years in Prison for Racketeering and Sex Trafficking Offenses". www.justice.gov. October 27, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  23. ^ Pandey, Devesh K. (August 28, 2017). "Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to serve 20 years in jail". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  24. ^ "Hearing in journalist murder case involving Dera chief Ram Rahim posted to October 27". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  25. ^ Colin A. Ross (1995). Satanic Ritual Abuse: Principles of Treatment. University of Toronto Press. p. 105. ISBN 0-8020-7357-3.
  26. ^ "BLACK SECT LEADER GETS 18-YEAR TERM". The New York Times. September 5, 1992. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  27. ^ "Sect leader sentenced to 135 years for molesting children". The San Diego Union-Tribune. April 22, 2004. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  28. ^ Cullimore, James (January 4, 1977), "Devotional, Brigham Young University", Speeches.BYU.edu, Brigham Young University
  29. ^ "A Look at Some Fallen Religious Leaders". SF Gate. November 3, 2006. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  30. ^ "Foot cult leader sentenced to prison". United Press International. July 15, 2005. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  31. ^ Indictment, United States of America v. Kent E. Hovind and Jo D. Hovind, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division, case no. 3:06CR83/MCR (dated July 11, 2006; filed at 12:55 pm, July 11, 2006).
  32. ^ "Kent Hovind, 'Dr. Dino,' guilty on all counts". Pensacola News Journal. November 3, 2006. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  33. ^ Miller, Russell. Bare-faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard, p. 142. London: Joseph, 1987. ISBN 0-7181-2764-1
  34. ^ Morgan, Lucy (March 29, 1999). "Abroad: Critics public and private keep pressure on Scientology". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011.
  35. ^ Morgan, Lucy (March 29, 1999). "Critics public and private keep pressure on Scientology // ABROAD" – via Tampa Bay Times. In 1978 Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard was convicted in absentia and sentenced to four years in prison for making fraudulent claims that he could cure physical illnesses. Hubbard never returned to France to serve the prison sentence before his death in 1986.
  36. ^ Murphy, Dan (October 27, 2009). "Scientology's French fraud conviction: Not the first legal case". Christian Science Monitor. In 1978, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard was convicted in absentia to four years in prison by a French court for making false claims that his methods could cure illness. Mr. Hubbard never served a day of the sentence, and passed away in 1986.
  37. ^ Davies, Lizzy (May 25, 2009). "Church of Scientology goes on trial in France". The Guardian. London. Retrieved July 28, 2009. While some countries, such as the US, consider Scientology a religion, France categorises it as a sect, and the country's courts have convicted several individuals of fraud over the past decades – most notably its science fiction-writing creator, L Ron Hubbard, in 1978.
  38. ^ "Church of Scientology on trial in France". The Sydney Morning Herald. May 26, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  39. ^ Farnsworth, Clyde H. (October 16, 1994). "Canada Seeks Money Trail Of Secret Cult". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  40. ^ "'Time to pay the piper' for preacher convicted of grand theft". CNN. March 31, 1999. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  41. ^ "Barry Minkow heads back to prison". The Los Angeles Times. September 20, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  42. ^ "Moon Conviction IsUpheldbyCourt". The New York Times. September 14, 1983. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  43. ^ Gordon, James S. (1987). The Golden Guru. Lexington, Massachusetts: The Stephen Greene Press. pp. 199–201. ISBN 0-8289-0630-0.
  44. ^ Staff (2007). "Oregon History: Chronology - 1952 to 2002". Oregon Blue Book. Directory and Fact Book compiled by the Oregon State Archives. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  45. ^ Staff. "Wasco County History". Oregon Historical County Records Guide. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  46. ^ "Acharya Rajneesh". Contemporary Authors Online. Thomson Gale. September 5, 2003.
  47. ^ Staff (1990). "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh". Newsmakers 1990. Gale Research. pp. Issue 2.
  48. ^ Staff (2007). "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh". Almanac of Famous People, 9th ed. Thomson Gale.
  49. ^ Moon, Ruth (February 24, 2014). "Founder of World's Largest Megachurch Convicted of Embezzling $12 Million". Christianity Today.
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